Renee Nal
While Chris Elston was peacefully displaying his signs of protest against the gender ideology being promoted in schools on Friday night in Montreal, he and a supporter were physically assaulted on the street by Antifa, a gang of domestic terrorists doing the bidding of Trudeau’s radical leftist government.
Elston explains in part on his website:
“Gender ideology is a pseudo-religious movement which claims that children can be born in the wrong body. It teaches that we all have a ‘gender identity’ which takes precedence over our biological sex…Thousands of children are now being sent to gender clinics, where they receive ONLY affirmation of this idea, and they are quickly sent on a medical pathway which includes puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones, and surgery.”
RAIR Foundation USA had the privilege of interviewing the brave dad, whose arm was broken during this latest attack. Elston, whose method of protest is to display his signs, was arrested in October for “causing a disturbance” for daring to walk around a designated protest area in Vancouver.
Elston explains that his signs are his way to spark “conversations” with those who express interest in his message. He believes strongly, for example, that children cannot consent to puberty blockers, a simple message that should be self-evident.
Chris’ story is reminiscent of brave dad Robert Hoogland, who was arrested for refusing to stay silent about his daughter, who began identifying as a boy after watching the pro-transgender video “Handsome and Majestic” at school. Hoogland’s daughter was encouraged by counselors at her school to change into a boy without her father’s knowledge or consent as reported last year at RAIR.
Elston’s peacefully-expressed belief prompted a mob of black clad men, accompanied by a woman, to physically confront him and a supporter. “Five, six, seven guys – including one woman – jumped me,” he explained, “They came from the street, and I think from my left as well.” Elston tried to film the attack as much as he could while not getting hurt himself. “It all happened really quick. Of course I wasn’t expecting it,” he said.
The assailants tore off Elston’s signs, that he was wearing in the front and back. One of his attackers picked up a “huge traffic cone” and repeatedly swung it at Elston, who blocked the blows with his forearm, which broke as a result. “He kept swinging it at me like an axe,” he said.
The assault occurred on the street with plenty of people around. “There were people everywhere, a very brazen attack,” he explained. Having dealt with “violent people” before, Elston had a body cam to capture the assault. Unfortunately, his body cam ended up in the street and was stomped on by the violent thugs. The images captured (see video) were from Elston’s mobile phone.
The attackers left as quickly as they arrived, disappearing into the crowd. Elston and his friend called the police, who arrived at the scene. He also realized his arm was in bad shape and called an ambulance.
The violent attackers were very organized and Elston believes that the attack was “definitely premeditated” but of course cannot prove it. “I think so, I mean I can’t prove that [it was premeditated],” Elston said, “but [it] sure seems like it. No one does that. They didn’t say a word to me; they were just on me in a heart beat.”
It is important to mention that “Antifa” are aligned with left-wing politicians, the media and academia. The militants who attacked Chris Elston will likely not be identified, arrested or charged for breaking his arm and destroying his property. The attack will not be reported in the establishment news. The left is very content to allow these domestic terrorists to intimidate those who stand in their way. Without pushback from citizens, this trend will only continue and get worse as it has in Germany, where politicians are now openly supporting Antifa and even diverting funds to them, as reported at RAIR.
Arrested at Vancouver Art Gallery
As previously mentioned, this was not Chris Elston’s first encounter with radical leftists. On October 24, 2020, Elston was in downtown Vancouver with his signs. He tries to find heavily populated areas. “I just try to have as many conversations as I can,” he explained. While he was walking around, he noticed a large group by the Vancouver Art Gallery, which is “where all the protests that go on in downtown Vancouver.”
Chris Elston headed toward the area, with the intent to speak to as many people as he could about his signs. That day, his sign said “Gender ideology does not belong in schools” in front and in back, it said “I heart J.K. Rowling.”
J.K. Rowling is best known for writing the Harry Potter novels. Rowling has faced endless criticism for being a so-called “TERF,” which stands for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist”. The criticism stemmed from a Tweet that claimed that only women are capable of menstruation. The controversy is summed up here.
Elston explained that he “only got about 20 feet” into the area when he was “completely surrounded in a circle” by who he believes were “Antifa members.” He said that once he was surrounded, his aggressors would not let him move. Elston said that about “30 feet away” from his location, “there were 20 police officers all standing in a line on the sidewalk.” “So I extracted myself from this circle of bullies,” he explained, and approached the police officers to ask for assistance. The police said that Elston “was instigating” by walking with a sign the mob didn’t like.
Not about to be deterred, Elston walked back into the crowd, making it about “15-20 feet” before his phone was knocked from his hand. “Because I was filming all of this with my phone. I have all the video of it,” he said. “And so I picked up my phone, I walked back to the police, and they all said they didn’t see anything.” Further, a police officer said to Elston: “I’m telling you, do not go into that crowd.”
When people are engaged in peaceful and legal activities, as Elston certainly was, police officers have a duty to protect them. Too often, police look the other way, likely out of fear of political repercussions. Perhaps it was that fear that led to the police officers ignoring and even defending Elston’s aggressors.
“And I was honestly shocked,” Elston said of the police officers’ reaction. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just walking there peacefully, wearing a sign…” he said. “I know my rights, I have every right to be here,” he said. At this point Elston attempted to go back into the crowd, but he was approached by a man named Robert Ages, who has worked in the British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union.
Elston described the scene: “He came, and with both of his fists, and forearms, he hit me right kind of in my chest here in my signs,” he said, “And instantly, I was grabbed from behind by three police officers, handcuffed, arrested, taken to jail, spent about four hours there and I was charged with causing a disturbance,” he explained.
Elston documented the attack and the subsequent arrest, fortunately, and it may have saved him from having further action taken against him:
Chris Elston said that it was likely “easier” for police to take him from the scene than it would have been to deal with a violent mob. This is quite profound, and quite sad. If citizens and police officers do not stand up to the left-wing mob, the bad guys will be emboldened and the violence will continue.
While the Crown Counsel in Canada is not proceeding with charges, Elston has been banned from walking with his signs in the vicinity of the protest area. Chris Elston is driven to continue his work. He asks that people visit his website to learn more and make a donation:
“There are dangerous ideologues in our society that are targeting our children. They’re teaching rubbish to them in every school in our country. And every day, I’m getting messages from parents – and it’s almost always about their daughters – who are wanting to switch genders. And it’s a really dangerous drug [puberty blockers]. It’s the start of a medical pathway that then leads to cross-sex hormones, oftentimes surgeries, double mastectomies for girls when they’re 16, even without parental approval…And I’m just out there to have conversations, because we have an entire generation of kids who are in danger of getting indoctrinated and coming to medical harm.”
Watch RAIR’s exclusive interview with Chris Elston, who refers to this issue as “the scandal of our time”:
RAIR Foundation
Amy Mek
Should be carrying.